‘Whoever Controls Mala Tokmachka Controls the World’: How the Battle for a Ukrainian Village Became

For some observers of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Mala Tokmachka has been mentioned so often in Russian military reports and pro-war Telegram channels lately that it has started to sound as though it were the key to victory in the entire war. The long-running battle for this small Ukrainian village in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region — and Moscow’s repeated claims of progress and victory there — has now become an unexpected meme. It all started when a video compilation of pro-Kremlin military c

Even pro-Kremlin military bloggers have chimed in on the video. “Here are the results of ‘Kyiv in three days’,” the pro-war Telegram channel Alex Parker Returns quipped . The entrance sign to the village of Mala Tokmachka. esu.com.ua Mala Tokmachka, which had a pre-war population of about 3,000, sits on a route leading to Orikhiv, a key Ukrainian defensive hub in the Zaporizhzhia sector. Ukrainian forces have built fortified positions and defensive lines around the village, turning it into a stronghold blocking Russian advances in the area. By 2025, Russian-installed authorities said only 10 residents remained. Russia’s Defense Ministry first claimed control of the village in March 2022, during the opening phase of its full-scale invasion. By that summer, reports said Ukrainian troops had returned to the area. From then on, Mala Tokmachka became a regular feature in Russian military updates, with the Defense Ministry and war correspondents alike repeatedly reporting strikes on Ukrainian positions there. In May 2024, the Defense Ministry even staged an exhibition showcasing what it described as Ukrainian military “trophies” captured there. In 2025, Russian military briefings reported that troops had begun direct combat operations in and around the village itself. Then, in November, the Defense Ministry announced what it described as the village’s “liberation” for the second time since the start of the war.

Key points

• Even pro-Kremlin military bloggers have chimed in on the video.
• “Here are the results of ‘Kyiv in three days’,” the pro-war Telegram channel Alex Parker Returns quipped .
• The entrance sign to the village of Mala Tokmachka.
• esu.com.ua Mala Tokmachka, which had a pre-war population of about 3,000, sits on a route leading to Orikhiv, a key Ukrainian defensive hub in the Zaporizhzhia sector.
• Ukrainian forces have built fortified positions and defensive lines around the village, turning it into a stronghold blocking Russian advances in the area.